Monthly Archives: November 2016

Karen Katz, the brilliant, imaginative President and CEO of Neiman Marcus embraced the future by bringing a fashion rental concept to the in-store environment. This is revolutionary and disruptive to the traditional sales concept. Rent the Runway, an online company that rents designer apparel and accessories, will now service customers in the plush Neiman Marcus environment. The first Rent the Runway unit was recently opened at Neiman Marcus in Union Square, San Francisco.

Olio wants to make it easy for busy food sellers to avoid wasting food. “These vendors usually don’t have enough surplus to donate to a charity or something, but they still end up having to throw away quite a lot at the end of the day,” Mornington explains. “So either I or some volunteers will come everyday to collect any scraps and put it on the app.”

On Monday, Airbnb released a report that paints home-sharing as an important source of income for older hosts, especially those struggling to afford to continue living in their homes. The report is co-authored by Gene Sperling, formerly a National Economic Advisor and Director of the National Economic Council under Presidents Clinton and Obama.

On-demand startups—the ones bringing us grocery, housecleaning, parking, lawn mowing, and personal butlers with a tap on our smartphones—have been out of vogue with venture investors for most of this year.

The gig economy workforce is growing. A new Pew Research Center survey on the sharing economy shows that 8% of American adults earned money from an online employment platform in the last year across industries, such as ride hailing, online tasks, and cleaning/laundry. These gig economy workers are driven by a range of motivations, from lacking other jobs to wanting control over their schedule to seeking social connection. But there are big differences separating those who are more financially reliant on gig work (56% of workers surveyed) and “casual” gig workers (42%) who report that they could live comfortably without the additional income. While gig work is a necessity for some, it is a luxury for others.

Airbnb announced a new product on Thursday, which CEO Brian Chesky said is the future of his company, Vanity Fair first reported. Airbnb Trips launched in November and “offers travelers a series of excursions and adventures. The move pushes Airbnb well past its couch-surfing origins,” Vanity Fair said.

The FAA this week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny Flytenow’s request to review a case it filed against the agency over its flight-sharing website. Backed by the Goldwater Institute, Flytenow has asked for the Supreme Court to review its case to overturn an FAA legal interpretation that shut down the website. The Flytenow website was designed to connect pilots with potential passengers who would share expenses on pre-planned flights. It was shuttered after the FAA determined that pilots who solicit passengers using the Fsite are “common carriers” and subject to commercial transportation requirements.

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Shared-Use Mobility Center
A public-interest organization working to foster collaboration in shared mobility and help connect the growing industry with transit agencies, cities, and communities across the nation